


An Unexpected Companion

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Cedric Diggory Lives, Fix-It of Sorts, Happy Ending, M/M, On the Run, Quidditch, Time Travel, living in hiding, romania - Freeform, things are fixed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25206454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: Harry Potter time travels back to save Cedric's life, when that mission is accomplished, he asks for Oliver's help to keep Cedric safe.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Oliver Wood
Comments: 15
Kudos: 63
Collections: Rare Pair Shorts - Summer Wishlist Event 2020





	An Unexpected Companion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kelly_chambliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelly_chambliss/gifts).



> Originally written for the [](https://rarepair-shorts.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**rarepair_shorts**](https://rarepair-shorts.dreamwidth.org/) summer wishlist event. Totally unbetaed and written very late at night. I hope you can forgive any glaring errors. This ficlet assumes Oliver wasn't at Hogwarts attending the GoF games. And some finicky - please ignore - time travel holes. Also written for [](https://enchanted-jae.dreamwidth.org/profile)[](https://enchanted-jae.dreamwidth.org/)**enchanted_jae** 's Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge # 173, prompt: hide, hope, hot.
> 
> The rules for the RPS wishlist is that the stories have to be less than 2000 words so my apologies that some parts are more "tell" than "show". ♥ Thanks for reading.

Nineteen year old Oliver Wood was just settling in for the night when a knock on the door gave him a start. He wasn't expecting anyone, and he wondered if his sister, who had left hours ago was back for some reason. He was surprised to find Harry— _was it really Harry?_ at his door. 

He didn't look like the Harry Oliver had seen a few short months ago when he'd introduced his parents to Harry. 

"Oliver," Harry said in a rushed whisper. "I need your help." 

Oliver got out of the way, letting Harry in through the door, which was when he discovered Harry wasn't alone. 

"Is this…?" Oliver started to say when Harry cut him off. 

"Cedric. He's unconscious." 

"Harry, what's exactly going on?" 

Oliver watched as Harry lay Cedric down on Oliver's sofa carefully. He was treating Diggory as though he were made of glass. 

"I'm not the Harry you know, except, that I am," Harry said. "I mean, I'm not the same Harry. I'm not fourteen." 

Oliver believed him. He didn't look like the fourteen year old Harry Oliver knew. 

"I'm twenty-one," Harry said. "I've travelled back in time with Hermione and Ron… and we came back to save Cedric. Except, I can't let that be known. Not yet because of You Know Who…" 

Oliver's eyes widened he didn't know if this was some colossal joke or if he was dreaming or if he'd drank an entire bottle of Ogden's and totally forgot about it and was now—hallucinating. 

"Harry, that doesn't make any sense…" 

"I know what we're asking you is going to be a very big sacrifice, but I need you. You're the only person I can trust. You're the only person who can keep him safe." 

Oliver was at a loss for words until Harry handed him a satchel of gold coins. "I can't be in this universe for very long, and I can't tell you anything about the future. But, this is so you can take care of him. I know you're going to play for Puddlemere, and you're going to be brilliant—"

"I thought you couldn't tell me about the future?" Oliver asked. 

Harry looked amused. "That's something which is never going to change, Oliver, so I'm not really messing with the fates about that. But… Cedric was murdered on Voldemort's command, and I had swore to myself if I could ever do anything to save him, I would. And finally, all these years later, I had the chance. I could go back in time once and do something right. But, if anyone else finds out what I did—it will compromise the future. So you have to keep him safe." 

"What will happen when he wakes up? Won't he remember? Won't he want to see his family?" 

"I understand that. I wrote him a letter…" Harry hands a sealed envelope to Oliver. "I need you to make sure he reads it and I need you to make sure he doesn't see anyone from his family for the next three years." 

"Three years? Is that when it's over?" Oliver asked. 

Harry nodded once. "Yes. It's over by May of 1998. But, no, I'm not going to tell you anything else. I need you to keep him safe. If Vol—You Know Who finds out Cedric is alive, it could change everything. Even me…I mean my fourteen year old version of me doesn't know this. No one can know until the time is right."

"But…" Oliver hesitated. He still had so many questions and Harry looked like he was about to leave. "What do I _do_?" 

"You have the money now," Harry said pointing at the small bag of gold coins, "You can live anywhere you want. Go far away from here. You can live anywhere and play for Puddlemere—You're smart and resourceful, Oliver. I know you can figure it out. I have to go, my friend." 

"Okay," Oliver said, his heart was beating fast and he felt like the ground underneath him was shaking. "But, I can do it. I know I can." 

Harry smiled at Oliver and squeezed his shoulder once. "Thank you." 

With lightning speed, Harry was out the door, leaving Oliver alone in his sitting room with a sleeping Diggory.

0-0-0

Oliver and Cedric moved to Bucharest a week after future-Harry had all but dropped Cedric off at his flat and disappeared. Oliver never knew what Harry had written in his letter to Cedric, and he'd not asked.

Even though the boy was disoriented, scared, and depressed for a while, he'd agreed to Oliver's help, and to stay with him. 

Shortly after their move, Cedric had also changed his appearance, and his surname to Wood. If anyone asked, they planned on telling people they were cousins. 

As a reserve player, Oliver was expected to be at all the practises, but never required to stay overnight with the team. He often made excuses to return home, and his mates made fun of him for never wanting to leave the husband alone. 

Oliver went along with the jokes because he could never tell them exactly who Cedric was. And, he could never deny to himself that after living with him for six months, Oliver had got used to being around him. He couldn't imagine not being able to go home and not seeing Ced. 

He was more surprised at how well Cedric had taken to life in Romania. Thanks to the translation spells, he had got himself a job at a small school of young children whose parents couldn't afford to send their magical kids to big-named schools, and was their Quidditch coach. Now a platinum blond with vibrant blue eyes, he was even more appealing to the eye, and had a fanclub everywhere he went.

"I think you're supposed to blend in, not cause a bigger ruckus with your good looks." Oliver often teased him, to which Cedric only blushed and changed the subject.

Truth was, Oliver had fallen for the man he was supposed to protect and keep safe from the world, and the idea that everyone wanted to be around him, often made Oliver consider quitting Quidditch only to keep tabs on him. Cedric was polite, often quiet, and still managed to be a bigger presence in the room than anyone else. It was difficult for Oliver to not be enamoured by him. Yet, he could never figure out how Ced felt about _him_. 

He seemed loyal, and always there for Oliver as a friend, but Oliver didn't know if it was a Hufflepuff trait of loyalty or an obligation towards Oliver because of Harry. He also, never asked.

0-0-0

The schools were closed and everyone had gone into hiding. You Know Who and his Death Eaters were all over the continent, either harassing wizards—checking for their pureblood heritage, or manipulating them to join their army. Oliver knew it was time to go back to Hogwarts and fight for what was right. Future Harry had told him when it was going to be over, and Oliver knew he couldn't sit by and worry about his friends and family.

"I'll go with you," Cedric said when Oliver had told him his plan. They'd been living together for almost four years now, and Cedric was the closest friend he had. He still didn't spend more than two days without seeing him, or having a meal with him. 

"No, you can't!" Oliver pleaded. "Please stay here. I need to keep you safe." 

"But for how long?" Cedric asked. "They won't recognise me. They've probably all forgot about me, anyway, so I'll be someone who is fighting by their side—" 

"No!" Oliver pulled Cedric close to him and in a tight embrace. "You can't. I can't— If something happened to you—I won't be able to live with myself." 

"And what about me?" Cedric asked, he didn't let go of Oliver. With his face buried in Oliver's neck, he sobbed. "What will I do if you don't…" He hesitated for a moment. "If you don't come back? I'll die. I'd rather die again—" 

"Don't say that. No. Please…" Oliver pulled back and he took Cedric's face in his hands, without any uncertainty—not caring if he was going to be completely wrong about what he was feeling between them—Oliver kissed him. He'd been waiting to kiss Cedric for over three years now, and he wasn't going to wait any longer. "Please stay here. I love you." 

Cedric's eyes widened and his breath hitched and he pulled Oliver in for another kiss. "I love you…" he whispered against Oliver's lips. 

"Please wait for me. I promise I'll come back. I promise it'll be over and I'll take you to your family, and Harry, and…" 

"You better return, Oliver," Cedric said, his arms wrapping around Oliver's waist. "Or I'll time travel back to this moment and kill you myself." 

They embraced again for a long time, and it broke Oliver's heart to leave Cedric behind but he knew it was the right thing to do. He didn't have any instructions about this from future-Harry, but he also knew Cedric knew something Oliver didn't.

0-0-0

When it was over, when they had won, Oliver's first thought was towards Cedric. He wanted to go and tell Harry what had happened. But he didn't get the chance. Cedric, looking like his old self, had come to Hogwarts ground with his father. Everyone surrounded him, and Oliver watched as he hugged his old friends and classmates. He shared their joy and grief over the ones they'd lost and finally, after what seemed like a century, Cedric made his way towards Oliver.

"Ready to go home?" he asked. 

"Oh? You're not going to stay with your family?" Oliver asked in return. 

"You are my family now, Oliver." 

Oliver returned to Bucharest with Cedric and they kept their secret. Cedric's parents came to visit often, and eventually, Oliver's family also found out the truth. But Cedric never revealed what was in Harry's letter— he said he was under strict instructions. 

Oliver kept his promise to Harry and took care of Cedric for the rest of their lives. He didn't want anything to go wrong and he lose the best thing that'd ever happened to him.


End file.
